Braves hold off White Sox rally, win 10-7

[August 31, 2019]  Adeiny Hechavarria's pinch-hit single in the seventh inning drove home two runs and gave Atlanta some breathing room as the Braves withstood a rally to beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 10-7 on Friday night.

The Braves loaded the bases on walks when the White Sox inserted reliever Evan Marshall. Hechavarria greeted him with a two-out liner to center field that extended Atlanta's lead to 8-5.

Hechavarria has 10 hits and nine RBI in 12 games with the Braves since joining them on Aug. 16.

The White Sox scored twice with two outs in the ninth against reliever Anthony Swarzak. That forced the Braves to bring in closer Mark Melancon, who struck out Tim Anderson for the final out to earn his seventh save.

The Braves knocked out Chicago starter Ivan Nova (9-11) after four innings. He gave up five runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks. He did not strike out a batter for the first time this season.

It was a rare misstep for Nova, who entered the game with a 0.94 ERA over his last seven starts.

Atlanta starter Max Fried (15-4) worked six innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits and one walk. The left-hander matched his career high with 11 strikeouts.

Dansby Swanson started a four-run outburst in the second inning with an RBI single. Tyler Flowers then delivered his 10th homer, a long three-run shot.

White Sox starting pitcher Ivan Nova (46) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta added a run to take a 5-0 lead in the fourth on Freddie Freeman's 30th double. Freeman added an RBI single in the eighth, when the Braves tacked on two runs, giving him a league-leading 109 RBIs.

Chicago got a run in the fifth on Adam Engel's RBI single, but the Braves got it back in the sixth when Flowers scored on Ozzie Albies' infield grounder.

The White Sox scored four runs in the seventh to trim Atlanta's lead to 6-5. Yolmer Sanchez had a run-scoring single and Welington Castillo welcomed reliever Luke Jackson with a three-run homer.

Chicago manager Rick Renteria was ejected by home plate umpire Brian Knight in the seventh inning while making a pitching change.

--Field Level Media

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